Press release -
Debut victory for Johannes Strolz
What a superb weekend for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels: Johannes Strolz celebrated his first World Cup victory in the Slalom in Adelboden on Sunday. Sara Hector takes the lead in the Giant Slalom following her victory in Kranjska Gora on Saturday. More HEAD athletes podiumed this weekend, with Wendy Holdener and Anna Swenn-Larsson finishing in second and third place in the Slalom in Kranjska Gora on Sunday and Alexis Pinturault finishing in third place in the Giant Slalom in Adelboden on Saturday.
"Johannes Strolz won the Slalom in Adelboden with two excellent runs. It was simply the best thing that could happen on this day. In Madonna di Campiglio he skied extremely well, but then unfortunately misjudged a gate. He has always performed very well during training sessions as well. It was clear to me that he races at a very high level," explained HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "Sara Hector's run of success also continued in Kranjska Gora. If you had said before the season that she would now be wearing the red jersey as the leader of the discipline, not many would have believed it. Stefan Kappaurer, who coaches our women athletes, did a great job with his team. Sara has won two races with new skis and has bagged two podium finishes. My thanks go to everyone supporting the team for their great work. We were also very strong in the women's Slalom with second, third and fourth places. Johannes Strolz showed us that when a victory is supposed to happen, he makes it happen. We are looking forward to seeing Wendy Holdener do the same."
First World Cup victory with bib number 38
A dream came true on the Chuenisbärgli run in Adelboden for Johannes Strolz, who started with bib number 38. He was in seventh place after the first run. With the fifth-fastest time on the second run, the 29-year-old scored his debut World Cup victory. His best result so far was tenth place in the Slalom in Madonna di Campiglio in 2020. "I have to say thank you to so many people who have always supported me. All the work I have put in over the years has finally paid off. That's unbelievable," Johannes Strolz said happily at the finish line. "I always believed I had what it takes. I have had so many setbacks. Finally, everything has come together." Tanguy Nef finished in 13th place in his home race in Switzerland.
Alexis Pinturault finishes third in the Giant Slalom
Alexis Pinturault led a strong HEAD team to finish in third place in the Giant Slalom in Adelboden on Saturday. Behind the French athlete, Justin Murisier from Switzerland - who celebrated his 30th birthday at this race - and Pinturault's compatriot Mathieu Faivre finished fourth and fifth. Fabian Wilkens Solheim from Norway finished 14th. "It was not easy today. But I am satisfied all the same. In Alta Badia it did not work as well. That's certainly not what I want. Today it was better, but it is still not a perfect result. I hope I can improve a bit before the Olympics," is how Alexis Pinturault analysed his race.
Two fastest runs to the red jersey
Sara Hector is setting the pace in the Giant Slalom. Clocking up the two fastest runs to build an overall lead of 96 hundredths of a second, the 29-year-old impressively bagged her second victory of the season in Kranjska Gora following her success in Courchevel in December. Two more podium finishes - second place in the first Giant Slalom in Courchevel and third place in Lienz - confirm her consistency and strength in this discipline. "Unbelievable, it was so cool. I felt great on the second run. I thought maybe I was skiing too curvy because it felt so easy," said the Swedish athlete. Lara Gut-Behrami's second run was also impressive. The Swiss athlete was in 17th place after the first run and moved up to fifth place overall with the third-fastest time on the second run.
Strong HEAD team performance in the Slalom
The women HEAD Worldcup Rebels delivered a great result in the Slalom in Kranjska Gora on Sunday. Wendy Holdener, the leader after the first run, had to admit defeat after being beaten into second place by 23 hundredths of a second. It was the 29th World Cup podium finish in the Slalom for the Swiss athlete. Third place went to Anna Swenn-Larsson from Sweden - her first podium this season. Lena Dürr from Germany celebrated another top result this season in fourth place. Sara Hector finished in tenth place, and Emma Aicher finished 13th. As a result, the German athlete has qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing. In the women's Slalom in Zagreb on Tuesday, Wendy Holdener finished in fourth place, just missing the podium. Three more HEAD Worldcup Rebels ranked among the top 15, with Maria Therese Tviberg from Norway finishing in ninth place, Lena Dürr eleventh and Sara Hector 14th. The men's Slalom in Zagreb had to be cancelled due to the poor state of the run.
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